Opposition party appears to win Bulgaria’s vote
SOFIA, Bulgaria — A right-wing opposition party appeared to win Bulgaria’s parliamentary election by a wide margin on Sunday, and Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev conceded defeat.
Official election results are not expected until Monday, but Sofia Mayor Boiko Borisov, the leader of the right-wing Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, said he expected to form the country’s next government and serve as its prime minister.
“I will take the responsibility to lead the next government,” Borisov said at a news conference.
Stanishev, whose socialist coalition was hurt by corruption, congratulated the opposition for its victory. “The results show that the Socialist Party has suffered a serious loss,” he told reporters.
Borisov’s party did not appear to win an outright majority, but it may be able to get the support it needs to form a coalition government.
The Alpha Research exit poll indicated the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria won 38.5 percent of the vote. The survey placed the governing Socialists second with 18.4 percent, while their junior coalition partner, the mainly Turkish MRF, won 13.5 percent. Alpha Research said the ultra-nationalist Attack Party would finish fourth with 9.2 percent, followed by the right-wing Blue Coalition with 7.5 percent.
A separate exit poll by Sova Harris said Borisov’s party won 40.8 percent of the vote, with the Socialists at 17.1 percent and Turkish MRF with 15.2 percent. It said the Attack Party would finish fourth with 8.9 percent, followed by the Blue Coalition with 6.4 percent.
Some 53 percent of Bulgaria’s 6.8 million eligible voters cast ballots, according to the exit polls.
Stanishev’s Socialist government has been credited with securing EU membership for Bulgaria in 2007, but it has widely been blamed for failing to crack down on corruption and improve the quality of life for Bulgaria’s 7.6 million people.
Bulgaria is the poorest member of the 27-nation European Union, with an average salary of €300 ($420) a month. At least 700,000 mostly young and well-educated Bulgarians have left the country over the last two decades for better job opportunities and living standards.
The EU froze millions in aid to Bulgaria last year amid allegations of fraud tolerated by the Socialist-led coalition, which has itself been plagued by scandals.
The ministries for construction, agriculture and the environment also have been accused in corruption schemes, but only a few low-profile cases have been taken to court.
In contrast, Borisov’s party has pledged to jail corrupt officials and crime bosses.
The Blue Coalition said Sunday that it would be open to joining a coalition led by Borisov’s party.
“This is a serious victory for the right-wing parties,” said Petar Moskov, spokesman for the Blue Coalition. “It is the big comeback of the rightist parties and a considerable punishing vote for the incumbent coalition.”
After casting his ballot Sunday, Borisov said: “I vote for a European Bulgaria, which has to prove that it is not the poorest and most corrupt country in Europe.”
Some voters said a new government is needed in their hard-pressed country.
“I cast a vote aimed at a change in this country, because I want to stay here and work here, and not abroad,” said Petar Antonov, a 22-year-old economics student.
Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were monitoring Sunday’s vote and will release a report on Monday.
Allegations of vote-buying by the two main parties during last month’s European Parliament election prompted several investigations and 15 court cases, police said. Transparency International said 16.4 percent of Bulgaria’s votes for the EU assembly were suspect.
On Saturday, 50 reports of vote-buying ahead of Sunday’s vote were investigated with two leading to criminal prosecutions, police said.
Related News
Opposition Socialists easily winning Greek election according to initial results, exit pollsOctober 4th, 2009 Initial results: Socialists winning Greek electionATHENS, Greece — Greece's opposition Socialists have claimed victory over the governing conservatives in Sunday's parliamentary elections. Senior party official and former minister Evangelos Venizelos says the Socialists have won a "historic" victory over the scandal-battered conservatives.
Exit polls: Merkel's party leads in German election, on track for new center-right coalitionSeptember 30th, 2009 Exit polls: Merkel riding high in German electionBERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel was on track to win a second term and form a new center-right government in Sunday's election and her center-left rivals were headed for a historic defeat, exit polls indicated. Merkel, a conservative, was seeking to end her "grand coalition" with the center-left Social Democrats of challenger Frank-Walter Steinmeier and form a government with the pro-business Free Democrats instead.
Exit polls: Norway's left-leaning government wins re-electionSeptember 14th, 2009 Exit polls: Norway's government wins re-electionOSLO — Two exit polls showed that Norway's left-leaning government narrowly won re-election Monday in an election focused on how to manage the Nordic nation's soaring oil wealth and seal cracks in its welfare system. If confirmed by the official results, it would be the first time a government in Norway has survived an election since 1993.
Polls open in election for Japan's lower house of parliamentAugust 30th, 2009 Polls open in Japanese parliamentary electionTOKYO — Polls have opened in Japan's nationwide parliamentary election. Opinion polls have overwhelmingly predicted that the opposition Democratic Party of Japan will unseat the conservative and long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party in a landslide.
Japanese voter poll shows opposition party could be headed for big gains in national electionJuly 15th, 2009 Japanese poll: More voters favor opposition partyTOKYO — A poll published Wednesday by Japan's largest newspaper indicated that Prime Minister Taro Aso's ruling party is headed for big losses in the upcoming national election — the latest sign that a surging opposition could grab control of the country for the first time in more than a decade. The Yomiuri Shimbun's poll showed that 45 percent of respondents think Yukio Hatoyama, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, should lead the country, compared to 25 percent for Aso.
Bulgaria's right-wing opposition party wins parliamentary election by wide marginJuly 6th, 2009 Bulgarian conservatives win election by big marginSOFIA, Bulgaria — Official results confirm Bulgaria's conservative opposition has won parliamentary elections by a wide margin. Outgoing Socialist Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev conceded defeat hours after polls closed late Sunday, clearing the way for Sofia Mayor Boiko Borisov to form the next government.
Bulgaria's conservative opposition wins election on anti-corruption ticketJuly 6th, 2009 Right wins Bulgaria vote on anti-corruption ticketSOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgaria's conservative opposition won elections by a wide margin as voters punished the governing Socialists for failing to crack down on corruption, according to final results released Monday. Outgoing Socialist Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev conceded defeat hours after polls closed late Sunday, clearing the way for Sofia Mayor Boiko Borisov to form the next government.
Exit poll: Bulgaria's right-wing opposition party wins parliamentary electionsJuly 5th, 2009 Poll: Bulgaria's right-wing opposition wins voteSOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgaria's right-wing opposition party has won Sunday's parliamentary election by a wide margin over the corruption-tainted governing Socialist coalition, an exit poll reported. The Alpha Research poll showed that the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, or GERB, led by Sofia Mayor Boiko Borisov, has claimed 38.5 percent of the vote.
Officials say Albania parliamentary election free of incidents, ballots being countedJune 29th, 2009 Albania counts parliamentary election votesTIRANA, Albania — Officials say Albania held parliamentary elections that were free of incidents that could threaten the tiny country's bid to join the European Union. Central Election Commission spokesman Leonard Olli says there is no clear winner after Sunday's vote, though early exit polls conducted by three international companies indicate Prime Minister Sali Berisha's Democratic Party is in the lead.
Will win many more seats than predicted: CongressMay 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Two days ahead of the poll results, the Congress party Thursday was upbeat about emerging the single largest party and dismissed exit polls carried out by media organisations. Party spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the Congress would prove the exit polls wrong by winning many more seats than predicted.
Will win many more seats than predicted: CongressMay 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Two days ahead of the poll results, the Congress party Thursday was upbeat about emerging the single largest party and dismissed exit polls carried out by media organisations. Party spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the Congress would prove the exit polls wrong by winning many more seats than predicted.
Election Commission reiterates ban on publishing opinion pollsApril 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Election Commission has reiterated that the result of opinion/exit polls should not be published from Tuesday evening till the conclusion of polls May 13. 'The result of opinion/exit polls carried out at any time cannot be published, publicised or disseminated in any manner, during the period starting from 48 hours before the hour fixed for conclusion of poll in the first phase of election and till the conclusion of poll in the last phase of election,' the Election Commission said in a statement Tuesday.
Election Commission bans exit, opinion pollsFebruary 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Election Commission Tuesday banned the publication or telecast of opinion or exit polls 48 hours before the last hour of polling in single-phase balloting. In cases of multi-phase elections or elections announced simultaneously for different states, the poll panel banned the publication of exit and opinion polls in the period starting 48 hours before the close of first day of voting till the end of last day of balloting.
Political parties welcome ban on exit pollsFebruary 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Major political parties Tuesday welcomed the Election Commission's decision to ban publication or telecast of opinion/exit polls 48 hours before the last hour of polling in single-phase balloting. 'We welcome this decision.
Awami League wins majority in Bangladesh pollsDecember 29th, 2008 DHAKA - Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League party won the ninth Bangladesh parliamentary election held Monday, the country's election commission announced Tuesday. The primary results of 229 constituencies updated at 6.25 a.m.
Loading ...